Members of a half-dozen law enforcement and emergency services agencies helped rescue a pair of 12-year old boys who fell through thin ice Tuesday afternoon at the Lake Minatare State Recreation Area northeast of Scottsbluff.
Nebraska Game and Parks Conservation Officer Dan Kling says the boys had walked along the Lake Minatare Dam to the swim beach area and then onto the ice. It gave way and they fell into the lake.
Officer Kling says they climbed to the top of the ice numerous times before finally being able to stay in one place and cry for help. The adults who were with the boys on the trip to the lake heard them and called 911 just before 5:00 pm.
The boys were rescued less than an hour later by members of the Minatare Fire, Rescue, and Dive Team. They were taken by ambulance to Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff, where they were treated and released.
Also helping with the rescue were the Nebraska State Patrol, Scotts Bluff County Sheriff’s Office, Valley Ambulance Service, and the AirLink Helicopter.
Kling says the recent return of unseasonably warm weather means visitors to lake and reservoirs in the region need to use extreme caution as nearly all the remaining ice is thin and dangerous.